


A Father's Pride

by Rebekah_Zellers



Category: NCIS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 09:12:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16060016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebekah_Zellers/pseuds/Rebekah_Zellers
Summary: Vance finds that Jared's grief for the loss of his mother is one that he cannot understand, but Tony can...





	A Father's Pride

Co-Written with a very talented author that asked me to post our story, but not use their name here on this forum - so, thank you for allowing me to do this I think you are going to find some support here, M.

Team Gibbs was working cold cases; Tony’s eyes danced over the cases looking for that one possibly inconsistency that would break a case. He often struggled with himself, he searched endlessly for ways to make himself valuable to the team and mostly to make Gibbs proud. Page after page; file after file, he searched for the one big break in a case that would get him that craved shoulder squeeze that showed more love than any hug or words possibly could.

Sometimes, he had to pause to think of what he was feeling as he worked through the day. There was the gut churning which meant something was hinky; something was putting someone he cared about in danger. The gut flip was a feeling that came with a consuming warmth almost like the flu that made him nauseated because it meant something was going on with one of his loved one. Whether it was Abby’s latest beau gone bad, a heartbroken Palmer or an emotionally wounded Tim; it was an indication that he needed to step up with a closed mouth and just be a friend. Finally, there was the heart flutter; it wasn’t a flutter that meant he needed a doctor, but a fluttering feeling that washed over him when someone praised him, showed him affection or bestowed some degree of love upon him. It left him warm and tingly, satisfied, and floating on air.

Sometimes Tony had to work hard to find something to make his heart flutter and other times things found him. Today, it was one of those days when something just found him. He was working hard at his desk when the sound of the elevator dinging followed by the shout of his name pulled his attention away from his work. Looking up, he was shocked to see Jared Vance walking towards him with a pizza box in his hand.

“Hey man,” Tony greeted the boy, with a bright smile; his face clouding with confusion as Jared handed him the unused pizza box with tears streaming down his face. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do it,” Jared’s words choked out; he could barely breathe as he spoke. “I tried and tried, but I just can’t get it right.” His hands trembled as he pulled a picture out of his backpack and handed it to Tony. “I want it to be just like this one you made. Do you remember our pizza box monster?”

“I do,” Tony nodded as he pulled his knife and started working his magic. “What do you need it for?”

“My mom,” Jared sniffed. “I wanted to take her something for her birthday, but I didn’t know what and then I was thinking about all the things that she loved about us. She loved our laugh and this was the first time laughed after she died and I know that would be pretty special for her so I thought that she would really like the pizza box monster. Do you think it is okay to put that on her grave?”

Tony glanced at the balcony where the Director was listening to the conversation wiping the wayward tear. A nod of approval was all that he could manage and was deeply grateful at the moment for the agent that he once despised and tried to run out of NCIS. Standing tall, the head of the agency started towards the stairs to show his son some support, but stopped when he heard Tony start to speak.

“I think that this is perfect,” Tony gave a warm smile to his young friend; his hand reaching across the desk to pull the boy around and onto his lap. “Good thing you need some meat on your bones or we’d break this chair.” The words were a light hearted tease that made the young boy laugh only to have it turn to a gasp as Tony placed the knife in his hand and guided it to finish the transformation of the pizza box. “You know what I think? I think this is so much more awesome than any flower that you could pick for her because it represents something that would mean so much to her.”

“When I think about how you chased us around that day and how hard we laughed, I like to picture her up in heaven laughing with us. Is that crazy?” Jared kept his concentration on his hand with the knife as he spoke to his friend; he wanted to get the cuts just right.

“I don’t think it was crazy,” Tony guided Jared’s hand to bend the box just the right way. “I think that is exactly what happened. When I think about my mom, I think maybe she is smiling too, but I have always hoped that someone up there distracts her when something isn’t right. I don’t ever want her to be sad because she can’t be here to help me anymore. You feel that way?”

“I do,” Jared sniffled. “I don’t ever want her to be sad because of me or Kayla or even dad. Tony?” Jared let go of the knife so he could take the box from his friend. “Do you think it hurt a lot?”

Vance swiped at the tears that started to fall in anguish. Gibbs looked up from his desk where he had been listening to the whole conversation, his heart stuttering in beat as he watch Vance cover his mouth to keep his sobs from being heard. There was a moment of silence that left Gibbs wanting to rescue his agent but something stopped him. Maybe it was the look of love and sincerity on Tony’s face as he wiped the tears from Jared’s cheeks or maybe it was the flutter in his chest that left him feeling such pride that his friend hadn’t backed down from the moment.

“What I think,” Tony took a deep breath as he pushed the overwhelming sense of despair to a dark corner where it was just barely out of reach. “What I think is that it all happened so quickly that she didn’t know anything that was going on, Jared. I think that she was instantly in some place where there was no pain and all she knew was love.”

“I hope you are right,” Jared checked out the monster box as he wiped his tears. “Will you go with me to the cemetery?”

“I would love to,” Tony smiled with a deep felt pride; a sense of love for this young boy filling him to the point that it almost scared him. “You know what though? I think that your dad would love to take you because as special as that moment was to you, when you were able to live and laugh without pain and as special as you know it would be for your mom; it was just as special to your father. Sometimes, as the son of a man that buried his wife, we have to make sure they know they are important to us and that they are loved. If you are worried that your dad is going to think this is crazy, I don’t think you need to worry for even a second.”

“His heart is broken too?” Jared glanced up to notice his father standing on the stairs for the first time.

“His heart was shattered,” Tony explained paying no mind to Vance. “He lost his wife, but he also was and still is a father that has two children that hurt because they lose their mother and he can’t fix that. You have a great dad, Jared; remember that.”

Nodding with tears dancing on his eyelashes, Jared gently picked up the pizza box as if were made of fine china and walked to his dad. “Will you go with me?”

“I would be proud,” Vance’s tears fell without abandon.

Gibbs stood in silence, watching as his boss walked hand in hand with his son to the elevator; the look of love and gratitude dancing in his features. A sniffle distracted him as he turned to find McGee standing behind his desk like a spectator in the big game; his emotions worn on his sleeve as he thought about the father he recently lost.

Moving across the bullpen, Tim stopped at Tony’s desk without a word uttered from his lips. His tear filled eyes conveyed the pride that he felt for his partner; the nod of his head was all he was able to manage before making his way out of the bullpen for some privacy. Seeing the display of emotion between his team, Gibbs smiled with pride only to have it mingle with sadness as he reflected on the loss of his own father.

Three strides, three long strides and he was at Tony’s desk. Three seconds later, Tony felt the calloused hand on the back of his neck and three seconds after that his heart fluttered as Gibbs gave it a gentle squeeze. There was no word; there was no exchange of open affection that the world around them could witness, but there was the brief moment when the world around him brightened and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he had made Gibbs proud.


End file.
